Policies & Procedures

(as required by the Employment Act 2002)

1.    Panels

1.1     Grievance and Disciplinary Panel

This will normally consist of the Chairman of the Parish Council and the Vice-Chairman and a third member of the Council (selected to give gender balance) unless the Grievance or Complaint involves the Chairman or Vice-Chairman. 

1.2    Appeals Panel

This is made up of at least three independent persons. In the case of a dispute relating to the Contract of Employment for the Parish Clerk it shall be referred in writing jointly to a joint panel of the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks and their joint decision shall be binding upon the parties hereto.

2.    The Grievance Procedure

The following steps are to be undertaken:

1.    Where the grievance cannot be resolved through recognised management practices, followed by conciliation and mediation, the employee will submit the alleged grievance in writing (short factual points) relating to their employment to the Chairman. This should be done within 3 – 5 working days. It should be noted that a grievance can be presented by a group of employees, and not just one employee. 

2.    A meeting, within 7 days (or whatever is reasonable), of the Grievance Panel will be called by the Chairman in the absence of the press and the public. In the meantime the employer will make every effort to investigate the circumstances surrounding the grievance. Where ever possible conciliation of the dispute should be sought using skills or a skilled mediator if necessary. If the matter is difficult an impartial mediator will be called into this meeting. At this discussion the employee will be given the opportunity to make clear the grievance either personally or by a representative present. This representative can be a friend or advisor and can help make clear the grievance. This person may address the hearing on behalf of the employee, ask questions and will be given time in private to confer with the employee. There is no right for this person to answer questions on behalf of the employee.

3.    After this, the decision of the Panel will be referred to Full Council for ratification. The Chairman will tell the employee the decision and that he / she has the right to make an appeal to the Appeals Panel of the Council. Both the decision and the right of appeal will be confirmed in writing.

4.    If the employee exercises his / her right of appeal there must be another meeting to hear the appeal. The appeal will be heard by an impartial Appeals panel of the Council. In the case of a dispute relating to the Contract of Employment for the Clerk it shall be referred in writing jointly to a joint panel of the National Association of Local Councils and the Society of Local Council Clerks and their joint decision shall be binding upon parties hereto.

5.    The final decision must then be given and confirmed in writing.

6.    A written record of proceedings must be kept, and those proceedings will be simple to follow and understand.                                                                                                     

Where employment has ended

1.    The employee sets down in writing and submits to the employer the alleged grievance.

2.    The employer gives his response in writing. Where a face to face meeting is not practical e.g for reasons of long travel time or time off to attend a meeting would be difficult, the employer will write to the employee the decision and that he / she has the right to appeal.

Right of Appeal

An employee can apply for redress for any grievance related to his/ her employment and appeal against any decision.

Protection against Victimisation

The employee has a legal right to be protected against victimisation by the employer through the complete action of the grievance procedure. Any employee who has brought a grievance will not subsequently be disadvantaged.

Investigation

The employer will undertake through an independent and professional means a complete investigation of the matter to establish the facts. The time involved for this investigation will be agreed between the employer and the third party and the employee will be advised in writing of the time that this will take. The time taken for the investigation will be undertaken as speedily as possible to achieve complete and thorough investigation.

Special Needs

Any employee who has special needs requirements or whose first language is not English will be provided with all necessary assistance to permit them to have a fair and just hearing.

Equal Opportunities

All employers should make every effort to ensure equality of every aspect of the procedure for any person who is of ethnic origin other than English.

Confidentiality

Records in relation to Grievance and Disciplinary matters are classified as confidential. Neither the public, nor other members of the organisation without a specific need to know, have access. A copy of the record of the proceedings and results will be given to the employee. Matters relating to Disciplinary or Grievance Hearings should be kept for no more than one year.

Appropriate Remedial Action

When every aspect has been explored the appropriate remedial action, if justified, should be taken. It is essential that what is agreed to be done, whether changes to procedures or alterations in working practices, should be done and monitored. Any action taken by the employer to remedy or resolve the complaint will be put in place within the earliest possible opportunity, and then monitored.

3.    The Disciplinary Procedure

Disciplinary proceedings are not to be considered as a first step (excepting exceptional circumstances of gross misconduct), or purely as a means of imposing strictures on an employee. The employer will carefully explore facts to make a distinction between conduct and capability. Gross misconduct is a substantial matter such as theft, deliberate harm to Council property causing harm to employees. In such a case, after investigation, the employee will be suspended on full pay while the employer convenes a disciplinary hearing. Situations which arise and might involve disciplinary proceedings are such things as unauthorised absence, misuse of council facilities, breaches of regulations governing conduct in the workplace. Minor misdemeanours are not something which should be dealt with through the disciplinary procedure, but through the committee.

Informal discussions/counselling

Before taking formal disciplinary action, the Chairman will make every effort to resolve the matter by informal discussions with you. Only where this fails to bring about desired improvement should the formal disciplinary procedure be implemented.

Formal verbal warning

If, despite informal discussions, your conduct or performance does not meet acceptable standards, you will be given a formal verbal warning by the Chair. You will be told the reason for the warning.

A brief note of the warning will be kept but it will lapse after six months, subject to satisfactory conduct and/or performance.

Written warning

If there is no improvement in standards, or if a further offence occurs, a written warning will be given. This will:

•    State the reason for the warning and a note that, if there is no improvement after one month, a final written warning will be given and
•    Invite you to attend a meeting with the Chair to discuss the matter.

A copy of this first written warning will be kept on file but the warning will lapse after 12 months subject to satisfactory conduct and/or performance.

The meeting will only take place if:

a.    the Chair has informed you of the basis for including in the written warning the ground or grounds given in it, and

b.    you have had a reasonable opportunity to consider your response to that information.

You must take all reasonable steps to attend the meeting. After the meeting, the Chair will inform you of his or her decision and notify you of the right to appeal against the decision if you are not satisfied with it.

Final written warning

If your conduct or performance remains unsatisfactory or if the misconduct is sufficiently serious to warrant only one written warning, then a final written warning will be given. This will state that any recurrence of the offence or other serious misconduct within a period of one month will result in dismissal. A copy of the warning will be kept on file but the warning will lapse after 12 months subject.

Dismissal

If there is no satisfactory improvement or if further serious misconduct occurs, you will be dismissed.

Gross misconduct

If, after investigation, it is deemed that you have committed an offence of the following nature, the normal consequences will be dismissal:

• theft, fraud, deliberate falsification of company documents
• fighting, assault on another person
• deliberate damage to company property
• sexual or racial harassment
• being unfit to work through alcohol or illegal drugs
• gross negligence
• gross insubordination

While the alleged gross misconduct is being investigated, you may be suspended, during which time you will be paid the normal hourly rate. Such suspension is not to be regarded as a form of disciplinary action and will be for as short a period as possible. Any decision to dismiss will be taken only after investigation. If you are found to have committed an act of gross misconduct, you will be dismissed without notice or payment in lieu.

Appeals

If you wish to appeal against any disciplinary decision, you must appeal, in writing within five working days of the decision being communicated to you to the Chair. The Committee will hear the appeal and decide the case as impartially as possible. You will be invited to an appeal meeting and you must take all reasonable steps at attend the meeting. You may be accompanied at any meeting by a fellow worker of your choice or by an officer of a trade union of which you are a member, who will have the right to address the interview panel, but not to answer questions on your behalf. The appeal meeting need not take place before the dismissal or disciplinary action takes effect. After the appeal meeting, the Committee will inform you of its final decision.

Disciplinary Procedure

The following steps are to be taken

1.    A notice in writing giving details of the complaint of the employee’s conduct, capability or other matter that could result in disciplinary action or dismissal, signed by the Chairman and authorised by Full Council if necessary at an extraordinary meeting, shall be given to the employee. This will only be done after a full investigation of the matter by the employer.

2.    A meeting must be held with the employee for a discussion of the matter. The employee will be given 7 days to prepare a defence.

3.    The precise allegations will be read out at the start of the hearing.

4.    The employee will be given adequate time to answer the allegations.

5.    The employee’s representative will be allowed to challenge any matters that will be used by the employer to make their decisions. An open mind will be kept by the employer during all of this time. 

6.    After this, the employer must tell the employee the decision and that he/she has the right to appeal. Both the decision and the right of appeal must be confirmed in writing.

7.    If the employee exercises his/her right of appeal there must be another meeting to hear the appeal. The right of appeal will be heard by a independent appeals panel of the Council.

8.    The final decision must then be given and confirmed in writing.

Where employment has ended

1.    The employer sets down in writing and submits to the employee the alleged complaint.

2.    The employee gives his response in writing. Where a face to face meeting in not practical e.g for reasons of long travel time, or time off to attend a meeting would be difficult, the employer will write to the employee the decision and that he/she has the right to appeal.

As with Grievance Procedures there will be consideration of special needs and equal opportunities. All such matters will be held away from the press and the public.